Adaptive divergence in shell morphology in an ongoing gastropod radiation from Lake Malawi.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Ecological speciation is a prominent mechanism of diversification but in many evolutionary radiations, particularly in invertebrates, it remains unclear whether supposedly critical ecological traits drove or facilitated diversification. As a result, we lack accurate knowledge on the drivers of diversification for most evolutionary radiations along the tree of life. Freshwater mollusks present an enigmatic example: Putatively adaptive radiations are being described in various families, typically from long-lived lakes, whereas other taxa represent celebrated model systems in the study of ecophenotypic plasticity. Here we examine determinants of shell-shape variation in three nominal species of an ongoing ampullariid radiation in the Malawi Basin (Lanistes nyassanus, L. solidus and

SUBMITTER: Van Bocxlaer B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6953155 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature